Looking at the Ravens' candidates for the PUP list

Jeff Zrebiec: The Ravens won't officially begin their Super Bowl XLVII title defense until Sept. 5, when they open the season on the road against the Denver Broncos. But starting Thursday with the first full-squad practice of training camp, and continuing for the next six weeks, coach John Harbaugh and his staff will shape a roster that has been overhauled since the victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 3. There will be no Ray Lewis or Ed Reed, fixtures at Ravens training camp for more than a decade. Seven other Super Bowl starters are also gone. Linebacker Terrell Suggs, now the longest tenured Raven, will be on the field rather than sidelined with a torn Achilles. As the reigning Super Bowl MVP and owner of one of the richest deals in NFL history, quarterback Joe Flacco will no longer have to answer questions about his contract or his ability to win the big game. Most of the issues that dominated the dialogue in recent Ravens training camps and in the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl have been addressed. However, there is still no shortage of training camp questions as action in Owings Mills gets underway. Here is a look at five:

Aaron WilsonThe Baltimore Sun

The Ravens have several candidates for the active physically unable to perform list, including a handful of key players recuperating from injuries.

** Webb underwent surgery last October to repair his knee and has made steady progress to the point where he's ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, according to sources.

The Ravens still may opt to ease Webb back into a full-go mode at practice and limit his activity initially at camp, per a source. He's expected to be able to practice without restrictions soon, though.

** Yanda had surgery this offseason and coach John Harbaugh said he's ahead of schedule.

"We expect him back by camp to some degree,” Harbaugh said in June. “Marshal Yanda has done a great job with the rehab. He’s right on schedule, probably ahead of schedule.”

** Ngata had just begun running a few weeks prior to a full-team minicamp and mostly worked on the side doing conditioning work during offseason practices after spraining his knee during the Super Bowl.

Ngata isn't expected to be sidelined for long, if at all, during training camp.

** Cody told The Baltimore Sun recently that he didn't expect to be fully ready for the start of camp and will need time to get back to full strength. Cody faces a challenge for his starting job from rookie Brandon Williams, a 6-1, 335-pound Division II All-American from Missouri Southern.

** Jameel McClain is optimistic about his chances to play again after suffering a scary injury last December against the Washington Redskins that didn't require surgery.

At his football camp in July, McClain said that he felt great, but acknowledged it's in the doctors' hands.

McClain has no restrictions on his exercise regimen and hasn't felt any lingering effects from the injury in several months.

The Ravens' medical staff will have to make a decision gauging his readiness to resume contact drills and clear McClain before he can resume practicing again. He was limited to individual drills during the offseason.

** McClellan has been cleared by the doctor that performed his surgery, and the linebacker predicted he would be ready for the camp.

** This is likely the equivalent of a "medical redshirt" year for Lewis-Moore, a former Notre Dame standout who injured his knee against Alabama in the BCS national title game.

** Antoine McClain had foot surgery in May and was unable to practice at any offseason workouts. He said he thinks he'll be ready for camp.

** Under NFL rules, a player placed on the physically unable to perform list can be activated at any time. Once a player is activated from the list to practice, they can't go back on the list and they're ineligible to be placed on the reserve physically unable to perform list.

If a player finishes the preseason on the PUP list, they can be placed on the regular-season PUP list. Then, the player must sit out at least the first six games.

From there, NFL teams have a three-week window for the player to start practicing. After that, there's an additional three-week window to make a decision on whether to activate the player to the 53-man active roster.

The NFL also has a non-football injury for players unable to practice for reasons unrelated to football.

If a player fails the Ravens' mandatory conditioning test, they're often placed on this list briefly until they pass the series of timed interval runs with different times assigned for the various position groups.

Typically, a player who doesn't pass the test on the first try is able to do so on the second after some extra conditioning work with strength and conditioning coach Bob Rogucki.